Search

Quantum computing has already demonstrated great computational potential across multiple domains and has received more and more attention. However, due to the connectivity limitations of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices, most of the quantum algorithms cannot be directly executed without the help of inserting SWAP gates. Nevertheless, more SWAP gates lead to a longer execution time and, inevitably, lower fidelity of the algorithm. To this end, this paper proposes an optimized qubit mapping algorithm based on a dynamic look-ahead strategy to minimize the number of SWAP gates inserted. Firstly, a heuristic algorithm is proposed based on maximizing physical qubit connectivity to generate the optimal initial qubit mapping, which reduces the need for logical qubit shifts during subsequent SWAP gate insertion. Secondly, in the form of directed acyclic graphs, we identify quantum gates that violate the constraints of physical coupling and insert SWAP gates to remap qubits, thereby overcoming the limitations of qubit interactions. Finally, the optimal SWAP gate insertion strategy is built by comparing the cost of different SWAP gate insertion strategies through a multi-window look-ahead strategy to reduce the number of SWAP gates inserted. The experimental results show that the strategy in this paper decreases the number of SWAP gate insertions and significantly reduces the depth of quantum circuits when performing qubit mapping compared with state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin condition with intense pruritus, eczema, and dry skin. The recurrent intense pruritus and numerous complications in patients with AD can profoundly affect their quality of life. Obesity is one of its comorbidities that has been confirmed to be the hazard factor of AD and also worsen its severity. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms that explain the connection between obesity and AD remain incompletely recognized. Recent studies have built hopes on various adipokines to explain this connection. Adipokines, which are disturbed by an obese state, may lead to immune system imbalances in people with AD and promote the development of the disease. This review focuses on the abnormal expression patterns of adipokines in patients with AD and their potential regulatory molecular mechanisms associated with AD. The connection between AD and obesity is elucidated through the involvement of adipokines. This conduces to the in-depth exploration of AD pathogenesis and provides a new perspective to develop therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonstationary fuzzy inference systems (NFIS) are able to tackle uncertainties and avoid the difficulty of type-reduction operation. Combining NFIS and neural network, a first-order sparse TSK nonstationary fuzzy neural network (SNFNN-1) is proposed in this paper to improve the interpretability/translatability of neural networks and the self-learning ability of fuzzy rules/sets. The whole architecture of SNFNN-1 can be considered as an integrated model of multiple sub-networks with a variation in center, variation in width or variation in noise. Thus, it is able to model both "intraexpert" and "interexpert" variability. There are two techniques adopted in this network: the Mean Shift-based fuzzy partition and the Group Lasso-based rule selection, which can adaptively generate a suitable number of clusters and select important fuzzy rules, respectively. Quantitative experiments on six UCI datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, medical image classification algorithm plays an important role in clinical diagnosis. However, due to the scarcity of data labels, small sample size, uneven distribution, and poor domain generalization, many algorithms still have limitations. Therefore, a deep learning training network for disease classification and recognition of multimodal few‐shot medical images are proposed, trying to solve the above problems and limitations. The network is based on the idea of meta‐learning for training. Specifically, the technology of transfer learning and few‐shot learning are used. In the process of building and improving the network structure, the multi‐source domain generalization method, which performs well in the field of person re‐identification, is combined. Finally, the applicability and effectiveness of the model are verified by using Grad‐CAM tool. The experiments show that the accuracy of classification and recognition of the model is better than the advanced model in this field. The concerned areas of model classification are similar or the same as the manually labelled areas. It is of far‐reaching significance to improve the efficiency of future clinical auxiliary diagnosis and patient diversion, as well as to promote the development of the Wise Information Technology of Med in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanol decomposition on Ni(111) surfaces has been studied in the presence and absence of oxygen using temperature-programmed desorption and temperature-dependent sum frequency generation spectroscopy. Under both conditions the C–H and O–H bonds break, forming carbon monoxide and atomic hydrogen on the surface. No C–O bond scission was observed, limiting the number of reaction pathways. The O–H bonds break first (>150 K), forming surface methoxy, followed by C–H bond breakage (>250 K). All atomic hydrogen desorbs from the surface as H2 through H+H recombinative desorption. H2 desorbs at a higher temperature in the presence of oxygen (>300 K) than the absence of oxygen (>250 K) as the oxygen on the surface stabilizes the H atoms, forming surface hydroxide (OH). The surface oxygen also appears to stabilize the O–H and C–H bonds, leading to slightly higher dissociation temperatures. The CO molecules occupy both the bridge sites and the top sites of the Ni atoms as surface H appears to force the CO molecules to the top sites. There is a slight blueshift in the C–O bond vibration for both the O covered and O free surfaces due to CO being more mobile. On the O free surface, the C–O peak width broadens as low-frequency modes are activated. Finally, CO desorbs between 350 and 400 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chitosan‐grafted caffeic acid (CS‐g‐CA) was successfully prepared using carbodiimide‐based chemical coupling method. The results of UV–vis and FT‐MIR showed that caffeic acid (CA) was successfully grafted onto chitosan (CS). The grafting degree of CA in CS determined by Folin–Ciocalteu scheme was up to 91.26 ± 2.58 mg g−1. Compared with CS solution, CS‐g‐CA solution has lower apparent viscosity and thermal stability. The results of SEM demonstrated that the grafting treatment changed the microstructure of CS. The grafting of the CA on CS enhanced its antioxidant activity. It can be seen that the clearance rate of DPPH (82.52% ± 0.7%), ABTS+ free radicals (88.21% ± 0.26%), T‐AOC (94.91% ± 0.21%) and FRAP (13.51 ± 0.52 mmol L−1 FeSO4) of CS‐g‐CA was similar to ascorbic acid at 2.0 mg mL−1. The results of antibacterial experiments demonstrated that CS‐g‐CA had better antibacterial ability in vitro, and the diameter of inhibition zone of 20.0 mg mL−1 CS‐g‐CA against Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus saprophyticus was 16.88 ± 0.05 mm and 19.17 ± 0.09 mm, respectively, and it was significantly higher than CS (11.25 ± 0.04 mm and 13.09 ± 0.07 mm). The texture and freshness of Control group and CS rapidly declines post‐mortem. CS‐g‐CA treatment could effectively retard the deterioration of texture and keep the better quality of Pompanos (Trachinotus ovatus). This study indicates that grafting CA onto CS alters the biological activity and physicochemical properties of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Different ice treatments were applied for the preservation of mackerel (Pneumatophorus japonicus). The quality changes of samples treated with flake ice (Control), slurry ice (SI) and slightly acidic electrolyzed water–slurry ice (SAEW‐SI) in microbiological, physicochemical, protein characteristic, and sensory evaluation were investigated during chilled storage. RESULTS: SAEW‐SI showed a significant advantage for the inhibition of microbial growth, which could extend the shelf‐life for another 144 h at least, compared with Control group. SAEW‐SI treatment also showed a strong inhibition for the increase in pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB‐N), K‐value, histamine and metmyoglobin (MetMb) content. Results of texture profile analysis (TPA) and water holding capacity (WHC) indicated that SAEW‐SI can obviously suppress the decrease of hardness value, and have a better protective effect on muscle structure compared to flake ice and SI (P < 0.05). During the whole experiment, the highest sensory scores and a* were obtained in the SAEW‐SI group, which indicated that SAEW‐SI treatment could maintain better sensory characteristics. According to the results of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis, SAEW‐SI treatment could effectively retard protein degradation and lipid oxidation compared with Control and SI group. In maintaining the quality of mackerel, SAEW‐SI shows a better effect than SI due to the synergistic effect of fence factors. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the shelf‐life of mackerel could be extended and the quality of mackerel could be maintained effectively with SAEW‐SI treatment during chilled storage. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine polysaccharides are a kind of natural polysaccharides which isolated and extracted from marine organisms. Now some marine polysaccharides, such as chitosan, sodium alginate and agar, have been proven to exhibit antibacterial, antioxidant functions and biocompatibility, which are often used to preserve food or improve the physicochemical properties of food. However, they still have the defects of unsatisfactory preservation effect and biological activity, which can be remedied by its modification. Chemical modification is the most effective of all modification methods. The advances in common chemical modification methods of chitosan, sodium alginate, agar and other marine polysaccharides and research progress of modified products in food processing and preservation were summarized, and the influence of additional reaction conditions on the existence of chemical modification sites of polysaccharides was discussed. The modification of functional groups in natural marine polysaccharides leads to the change of molecular structure, which can improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of marine polysaccharides. Chemically modified products have been used in various fields of food applications, such as food preservatives, food additives, food packaging, and food processing aids. In general, chemical modification has excellent potential for food processing and preservation, which can improve the function of marine polysaccharides. • The physicochemical properties and modification of marine polysaccharide were reviewed. • Marine polysaccharide and its derivatives have many biological activities. • Modification methods of marine polysaccharides were well differentiated according to their reported protocols. • The chemical modification of marine polysaccharides has site selectivity. • Marine polysaccharide and its derivatives can be used in food processing and preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the synergistic effects of ultrasound (US) and slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) treatment on the myofibril protein structure of vacuum‐packed sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicas) during refrigerated storage. Fresh sea bass fillets were treated with US, SAEW, US combined with SAEW treatment (US + SAEW), and sterile water (Control) for 10 min, respectively. Different indexes, such as hardness, myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), water activity (aw), and surface hydrophobicity, which also combined with protein characteristic (intrinsic fluorescence intensity) were analyzed. The results showed that the US treatment increased the MFI and surface hydrophobicity of sea bass. Compared with the control group, the bactericidal effect of US + SAEW treatment made the sample better water holding capacity, water activity, and higher fluorescence intensity. Differential scanning calorimetry spectrum results showed that samples treated by US had loose myofibrillary structure, which was convenient for SAEW to act more effectively. US + SAEW treatment retarded the degradation of protein. These results provided evidence that US + SAEW treatment could maintain the quality of fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus (BSLE) is a rare subtype of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that is clinically characterized by subepidermal tense vesicles or bullae. We aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory features of patients with BSLE.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for BSLE in our institution from 2015 to 2021. Cutaneous lesions, systemic manifestations, treatment options, and outcomes were evaluated. For each case of BSLE, four controls were randomly selected from patients with single SLE. Major clinical and laboratory characteristics were compared between the two groups.Results: Among 4221 patients with SLE, 12 developed BSLE. Vesiculobullous lesions were the first sign in five of the BSLE patients (5/12, 41.7%) and appeared after SLE diagnosis in the remaining seven patients (7/12, 58.3%), with a median duration from SLE onset of 36 months (4-115 months). The most common BSLE-affected sites were the head and neck (10/12, 83.3%), extremities (9/12, 75.0%), trunk (7/12, 58.3%), and mucosae (6/12, 50.0%). All patients with BSLE had extra-cutaneous involvement. The SLE disease activity index score exceeded 5 in 10/12 (83.3%) patients, which indicated high disease activity. Patients in the BSLE group had significantly higher incidences of proteinuria (83.3% vs. 47.9%, P = 0.027), hematuria (75% vs. 31.3%, P = 0.006), hemolytic anemia (33.3% vs. 0%, P = 0.000), and leukopenia (66.7% vs. 25.0%, P = 0.006) than those in the control group. The use of systemic corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, dapsone, and skin care was effective in controlling disease.Conclusions: Vesiculobullous lesions may be the first manifestation and indicate a high disease activity in patients with BSLE. Early diagnosis using clinical, histopathological, and immunological evaluations can lead to appropriate treatment of this progressive disease and improve prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Facile liquid phase mixing-calcination synthesis of Nb5+ doped SrTiO 3 nanoparticles. • Nb-SrTiO 3 has improved separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes. • Nb-SrTiO 3 has a photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction activity 4.2 times that of SrTiO 3. • Reasons for the improved photocatalytic activity of Nb-SrTiO 3 are proposed. The mediocre photocatalytic activity and unpractical preparation methods of SrTiO 3 have restricted its practical application as a photocatalyst. Herein, a practical liquid phase mixing-calcination method was designed to synthesize Nb5+ doped SrTiO 3 (Nb-SrTiO 3) with remarkably elevated photocatalytic activity. Nb-SrTiO 3 nanoparticles were synthesized by mixing Sr(NO 3) 2 , NbCl 5 and tetrabutyl titanate in deionized water (DW), evaporating the solvent (DW) and calcining the evenly mixed precursors at 700 °C for 4 h. The as-synthesized Nb-SrTiO 3 exhibited a photocatalytic activity 4.2 times that of SrTiO 3 in the reduction of Cr(VI) under Xenon lamp irradiation. Moreover, Nb-SrTiO 3 showed a rather good photocatalytic stability. Nb5+ doping can decrease the particle size and promote the photogenerated carrier separation and transfer of SrTiO 3 , thereby contributing to heightened photocatalytic activity of Nb-SrTiO 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Phenolic acids were grafted onto chitosan by carbodiimide coupling method. • The properties of copolymers were related to the type of phenolic acid. • Antioxidant, antimicrobial activity and characteristic of conjugates were compared. • Chitosan conjugates exhibited strong biological activity than chitosan. • Chitosan conjugates reduced microbial growth and extended the shelf-life of seabass. This study synthesized five phenolic acid-chitosan copolymers utilizing the carbodiimide-mediated chemical crosslinking reaction. Comprehensive evaluations were conducted on their structural attributes, physicochemical properties, and biological activities. Fourier transform infrared confirmed successful grafting of phenolic acids onto chitosan via amide linkages. Additionally, ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance analyses revealed novel absorption peaks between 200 and 400 nm and 6.0–8.0 ppm, respectively, attributable to the incorporated phenolic acids. Notably, the chitosan-gentisate acid copolymer exhibited significantly enhanced biological activity (p < 0.05) compared to pure chitosan and the other four conjugates, attributed to its highest grafting degree of approximately 295.93 mg/g. These modified chitosan derivatives effectively preserved the quality of sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) during refrigerated storage, extending its shelf-life by up to 9 days, 7 days, and 4 days relative to control, chitosan, and gentisate acid groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work addresses four aspects of the English translation model: consistency, model structure, semantic understanding, and knowledge fusion. To solve the problem of lack of personality consistency in the responses generated by neural networks in English translation models, an English translation model with fuzzy semantic optimal control of neural networks is proposed in this study. The model uses a fuzzy semantic optimal control retrieval mechanism to obtain appropriate information from an externally set English information table; to further improve the effectiveness of the model in retrieving correct information, this work adopts a two-stage training method, using ordinary English translation data for model pretraining and then fine-tuning the model using English translation data with optimal control containing fuzzy semantic information. The model consists of two parts, a sequence generation network that can output the probability distribution of words and an evaluation network that can predict future whole-sentence returns. In particular, the evaluation network can evaluate the impact of currently generated words on whole sentences using deep inheritance features so that the model can consider not only the optimal solution for the current words, as in other generative models, but also the optimal solution for future generated whole sentences. The experimental results show that the English translation model with fuzzy semantic optimal control of the neural network proposed in this study can obtain better semantic feature representation by using a novel bidirectional neural network and a masked language model to train sentence vectors; the combination of semantic features and fuzzy semantic similarity features can obtain higher scoring accuracy and better model generalization. In English translation applications, there are large improvements in scoring accuracy and generality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of pyrene or pyrene‐o‐carborane‐appendant selenoviologens (Py‐SeV2+, Py‐Cb‐SeV2+) for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and reduction of alkynes is reported. The efficient photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from electron‐rich pyrene‐o‐carborane heterojunction (Py‐Cb) with intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) characteristic to electron‐deficient selenoviologen (SeV2+) (kET = 1.2 × 1010 s−1) endows the accelerating the generation of selenoviologen radical cation (SeV+•) compared with Py‐SeV2+ and other derivatives. The electrochromic/electrofluorochromic devices' (ECD and EFCD) measurements and supramolecular assembly/disassembly processes of SeV2+ and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) results show that the PET process can be finely tuned by electrochemical and host–guest chemistry methods. By combination with Pt‐NPs catalyst, the Py‐Cb‐SeV2+‐based system shows high‐efficiency visible‐light‐driven HER and highly selective phenylacetylene reduction due to the efficient PET process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of pyrene or pyrene‐o‐carborane‐appendant selenoviologens (Py‐SeV2+, Py‐Cb‐SeV2+) for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and reduction of alkynes is reported. The efficient photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from electron‐rich pyrene‐o‐carborane heterojunction (Py‐Cb) with intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) characteristic to electron‐deficient selenoviologen (SeV2+) (kET = 1.2 × 1010 s−1) endows the accelerating the generation of selenoviologen radical cation (SeV+•) compared with Py‐SeV2+ and other derivatives. The electrochromic/electrofluorochromic devices' (ECD and EFCD) measurements and supramolecular assembly/disassembly processes of SeV2+ and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) results show that the PET process can be finely tuned by electrochemical and host–guest chemistry methods. By combination with Pt‐NPs catalyst, the Py‐Cb‐SeV2+‐based system shows high‐efficiency visible‐light‐driven HER and highly selective phenylacetylene reduction due to the efficient PET process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal defects in rail may affect the safety of the train travel and deteriorate the infrastructure of rail transit. However, the existing manual defect detection mode has difficulty coping with the increasing mileage and defect detection data. To accomplish the comprehensive detection of internal defects in rail, we propose a waveform subtraction recognition method based on rail defect features in B-scan images. First, rail structure waveforms are detected based on the You Only Look Once (YOLO) v4 network. Then, after removing normal structure waveforms, abnormal waveforms of defect are located. Last, according to the law of B-scan imaging and relationships with structure waveforms, abnormal waveforms are screened and classified into specific types of defect by the rule base. The detection method was tested on a real-world data set, and the test results showed that the accuracy of normal waveform detection was 0.871 and the accuracy of defect detection was 0.755. Furthermore, previous defect detection methods were compared, and results showed that the proposed method is feasible for the comprehensive detection of rail defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of fuzzy rules in a fuzzy neural network usually depends on the grid-type partition or clustering-based partition. However, the number of grids or clusters needs to be set in advance and the initial number of fuzzy sets on each dimension is usually the same. This usually does not fit the real situation (for example, when forecasting the weather, various features such as temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, etc., may have different numbers of fuzzy sets). In this paper, a novel zero-order fuzzy neural network with an adaptive fuzzy partition (AdFPFNN) is proposed, which does not need to preset the number of fuzzy sets and owns various numbers of fuzzy sets on different dimensions. The trick is to use the mean shift algorithm to perform adaptive clustering for each feature individually. For common fuzzy neural networks, dealing with high-dimensional problems is challenging work on account of the "fuzzy rule curse" and "computation underflow". To overcome these issues, an improved version of AdFPFNN is devised to tackle high-dimensional problems, called PaCoAMF-based AdFPFNN. It adopts two techniques to overcome the "fuzzy rule curse" and "computation underflow". One is the construction of a partially combined fuzzy rule base, which can generate rules that are adequate but do not grow exponentially with the number of features. Another is the proposal of an adaptive membership function that can guarantee the elimination of numerical underflow due to the product T-norm. Without feature selection or other dimensional reduction methods, the proposed PaCoAMF-based AdFPFNN can be directly used to solve high-dimensional problems. Simulation results on one constructed dataset and 13 real-world datasets (including 5 high-dimensional problems) confirm the effectiveness of the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PHB2 gene is located on chromosome 12p13 and encodes prohibitin 2, a highly conserved protein of 37 kDa. PHB2 is a dimer with antiparallel coils, possessing a unique negatively charged region crucial for its mitochondrial molecular chaperone functions. Thus, PHB2 plays a significant role in cell life activities such as mitosis, mitochondrial autophagy, signal transduction, and cell death. This review discusses how PHB2 inhibits transcription factors or nuclear receptors to maintain normal cell functions; how PHB2 in the cytoplasm or membrane ensures normal cell mitosis and regulates cell differentiation; how PHB2 affects mitochondrial structure, function, and cell apoptosis through mitochondrial intimal integrity and mitochondrial autophagy; how PHB2 affects mitochondrial stress and inhibits cell apoptosis by regulating cytochrome c migration and other pathways; how PHB2 affects cell growth, proliferation, and metastasis through a mitochondrial independent mechanism; and how PHB2 could be applied in disease treatment. We provide a theoretical basis and an innovative perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the role and mechanism of PHB2 in cell function regulation. [Display omitted] • PHB2 in the nucleus regulates tissue-specific functions and sexogen levels. • PHB2 may serve as a drug target by intervening in cell differentiation. • PHB2 is a receptor and an ubiquitin mediated autophagy recruitment protein. • PHB2 affects mitochondrial stress and inhibits cell apoptosis. • PHB2 matters in the mechanism exploration and drug development of many diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant increase in the recovery strain of a high-Zr β-Ti alloy from 2.25 % to 5.5 % when decreasing the deformation temperature from 300 K to 77 K is reported in this study. It is found that the super-elasticity of this alloy is independent of the β-grain size at 77 K. The results reveal that a coarse-grained specimen exhibited approximately the same super-elasticity as its ultra-fine grain counterpart at 77 K. The relative easiness of deformation-induced martensitic transformation and dislocation slip was substantially changed at 77 K, with a strong suppression of dislocation slip, which overshadowed the effect of grain refinement on the super-elasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results from an experimental study on the effect of temperature on bond strength of I-shaped steel and concrete. Eleven concrete encased steel (CES) specimens were tested by home-made fire test furnace to evaluate bond strength at various constant high temperatures (20°C600°C). The test results showed that: (1) the trend of the bond-slip curves at high temperatures were much similar to that at room temperature. Compared with room temperature specimen, the ultimate bond load and the residual bond load of specimens at high temperatures were significantly decreased. The specimens with the higher temperature had the less ultimate bond load and residual bond load. (2) In the descending stage, the P-S curve of the specimens with higher temperatures had more flat slope. The P-S curve of the specimens at the temperatures higher than 250°C had invisible descending stage. The ultimate bond load of the specimen at 600°C left with only about 5% of that at room temperature. (3) The ultimate slippages (i.e. the slippage at the ultimate bond load) of specimens at high temperatures were larger than that at room temperature, and varied from 2 to 5 mm. (4) The calculation formulas of ultimate bond load, ultimate slippage, and residual bond load at different temperatures were presented, the constitutive equations of bond-slip at different temperatures were obtained, which will provide a reference for the fire-resistant design of concrete encased steel columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has obvious clinical value in the diagnosis of diabetes, but the conclusions on the diagnostic value of diabetic retinopathy (DR) are not consistent. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the accuracy of glycosylated hemoglobin in the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy through the meta-analysis of diagnostic tests. Methods: Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) were searched until November, 2020. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated by Stata 15.0 software. Results: After screening, 18 high-quality papers were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the combined DOR = 18.19 (95% CI: 10.99–30.11), the sensitivity= 0.81 (95% CI): 0.75 ~ 0.87), specificity = 0.81 (95%CI: 0.72 ~ 0.87), +LR = 4.2 (95%CI: 2.95 ~ 6.00), −LR = 0.23 (95%CI: 0.17 ~ 0.31), and the area under the Summary ROC curve was 0.88 (95%CI: 0.85 ~ 0.90). Conclusion: The overall accuracy of HbA1cC forin diagnosing diabetic retinopathy is good. As it is more stable than blood sugar and is not affected by meals, it may be a suitable indicator for diabetic retinopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Langevin dynamics simulations are employed to study the dynamical properties of a flexible polymer in an active bath. The diffusion of the centre of mass and end-to-end distance fluctuation are particularly analysed. We modulate both active force and active particle size to probe the activity-induced facilitation of polymer dynamics. Results indicate diffusivity and chain relaxation time can be well scaled by the effective temperature of the active bath. In addition, diffusion dynamics demonstrates an anomalous superdiffusive behaviour in short time scales, which becomes more prominent with increasing active particle size. Lastly, we extract the effective viscosity experienced by the probed chain, showing a sharp decrease with increment of effective temperature. The attenuation of effective viscosity due to activity might be responsible for the facilitated polymer dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All atom molecular simulations are employed to systematically study the properties of polystyrene (PS) films supported on hydroxyl (–OH) terminated Si substrates. We modulate the –OH grafting density ϕG to probe its effect on polymer diffusion, local segmental relaxation, and glass transition temperature Tg. First, our results indicate a monotonic facilitation of polymer dynamics with increasing ϕG. The underlying mechanism is investigated in terms of energy and PS free volume change in detail, and a consistent scenario is obtained. The facilitated diffusion dynamics can be attributed to the –OH induced reduction of interaction energy between PS and the substrate. In addition, –OH grafting leads to the augment of the polymer free volume, which is responsible for the faster local segmental relaxation process. Second, we uncover a very intriguing increase–decrease non-monotonic tendency of glass transition temperature with increasing grafting density, where the maximum Tg occurs in a moderate grafting case. A wetting-friction transition is proposed to rationalize such an unusual behavior. As ϕG increases from a native case to a half grafting situation, polymer films undergo a sharply enhanced interpenetration (or wetting) into the substrate, resulting in the pronounced increment of Tg. As ϕG further increases, the polymer–substrate interaction energy experiences a heavy drop, which implies a greatly reduced friction effect, leading to the decreasing trend of Tg as observed in the range from half grafting to full grafting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a novel algorithm, known as the upper-layer-solution-aware (USA), a new algorithm, in which the penalty method is introduced into the empirical risk, is studied for training feed-forward neural networks in this paper, named as USA with penalty. Both theoretical analysis and numerical results show that it can control the magnitude of weights of the networks. Moreover, the deterministic theoretical analysis of the new algorithm is proved. The monotonicity of the empirical risk with penalty term is guaranteed in the training procedure. The weak and strong convergence results indicate that the gradient of the total error function with respect to weights tends to zero, and the weight sequence goes to a fixed point when the iterations approach positive infinity. Numerical experiment has been implemented and effectively verifies the proved theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. Despite of important progress in the local therapy, high radioresistance in primary tumor and chemoresistance in metastatic disease are the major obstacles for UM therapy. Therefore, strategies to overcome resistance to radiation or chemotherapy in UM are urgently needed. In this study, we found that phosphorylation of DNA-PKcs, which is the key factor of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway, was remarkably overexpressed in ionizing radiation (IR)- and Selumetinib resistant UM cells. Increased amount of NHEJ events were also observed in resistant UM cells. Inhibition of DNA-PKcs by NU7441 significantly impaired DNA repair and re-sensitized resistant UM cells to radiation and Selumetinib both in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrate increased DNA double strand break repair as a mechanism of resistance to ionizing radiation and Selumetinib, and identify DNA-PKcs as a promising target for radio-and chemotherapy in UM patients. • Phosphorylated DNA-PKcs is overexpressed in radio- and Selumetinib resistant uveal melanoma cells. • DNA-PKcs inhibitor NU7441 delays DNA repair in resistant uveal melanoma cells. • NU7441 re-sensitize resistant uveal melanoma cells to radiation and Selumetinib in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether use of American College of Radiology thyroid imaging report and data system (ACR TIRADS) in combination with K-RAS mutation status may facilitate risk stratification of patients with cytological Bethesda Category III and IV thyroid nodules. Ultrasonographic, cytological, and histopathological diagnoses were retrospectively correlated with K-RAS mutation status in a series of 43 cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules (CITNs) that were referred for surgical excision. K-RAS mutations were detected in 8/43 (18.6%) fine-needle aspiration (FNA) samples as against 11/43 (25.6%) surgical specimens. ACR TIRADS level (TR) TR3 lesions had a malignancy risk of 40%; the K-RAS mutation rate in FNA samples and surgical specimens of category TR3 lesions was 40% and 60%, respectively. K-RAS mutation-positive malignancy was significantly more frequently detected in follicular neoplasm/suspicious for follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN) lesions than that in atypia or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS) (P<0.01). Combined use of ACR TIRADS (TR5 as the diagnostic threshold) and K-RAS mutation status helped identify 83.3% (10/12) malignant nodules (58.6% specificity, 45.5% positive predictive value, 89.5% negative predictive value, and 65.9% accuracy). CITNs with ACR TIRADS category TR3 showed an unexpectedly high risk of malignancy. K-RAS mutation-positive FN/SFN nodules have a 50% risk of malignancy and surgery should be recommended. Combined use of ACR TIRADS and K-RAS mutation may facilitate risk-stratification of patients with CITNs. The high negative predictive value (NPV) for malignancy seems sufficient to allow conservative management of patients with active surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjugate gradient method has been verified to be one effective strategy for training neural networks due to its low memory requirements and fast convergence. In this paper, we propose an efficient conjugate gradient method to train fully complex-valued network models in terms of Wirtinger differential operator. Two ways are adopted to enhance the training performance. One is to construct a sufficient descent direction during training by designing a fine tuning conjugate coefficient. Another technique is to pursue the optimal learning rate instead of a fixed constant in each iteration which is determined by employing a generalized Armijo search. In addition, we rigorously prove its weak and strong convergence results, i.e., the gradient norms of objective function with respect to weights approach zero along with the increasing iterations and the weight sequence tends to the optimal point. To verify the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed method, four illustrated simulations have been performed on both typical regression and classification problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human brucellosis (HB) remains a significant public health concern in China. This study aimed to investigate the long- and short-term asymmetric impacts of meteorological variables on HB and develop an early prediction system. Monthly data on HB incidence and meteorological variables were collected from 2005 to 2020. The study employed the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) to analyze the long- and short-term effects of climate variables on HB. Subsequently, the data were split into training (from January 2005 to December 2019) and testing parts (from January to December 2020) to develop and validate the forecasting accuracy of both models. During 2005–2020, there were 34,993 HB cases (2.03 per 100,000 persons) and there was an overall rising trend (average annual percentage change = 21.18%, 95%CI 18.36%–26.01%) in HB incidence, peaked in May and troughed in December per year. A 1 m/s increment and decrement in differenced (Δ) average wind velocity (AWV) contributed to 73.8% and 87.5% increases in ΔHB incidence, respectively (Wald long-run asymmetry test (WLR) = 1.17, P = 0.25). A 1 hr increment and decrement in Δ(average relative humidity) contributed to both 3.1% increases in ΔHB incidence (Wald short-run asymmetry test = 3.01, P = 0.003). Average temperature (AT) (P < 0.001) and average air pressure (P = 0.012) played a long-run linear impact on HB. Δ(aggregate precipitation) (WLR = 1.76, P = 0.08) and Δ(aggregate sunshine hours) (WLR = 0.07, P = 0.94) did not have a significant long-term asymmetric impact on Δlog(HB). ΔΔAT(+) and ΔΔAWV(−) at a 1-month lag had a meaningful short-run effect on Δlog(HB). In the forecasting aspect, the NARDL produced significantly smaller error rates compared to the ARDL. Weather variability played significant long- and short-run asymmetric roles in HB incidence. The NARDL by integrating climatic variables could accurately capture the dynamic structure of HB epidemic, meaning that meteorological variables should be integrated into the public health intervention plan for HB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A convenient analytical method for bifenazate acaricide in citrus was developed. • The method was based on QuEChERS and modified with the oxidation of ferric chloride. • The bifenazate and bifenazate-diazene can be simultaneously determined. • The detection of bifenazate acaricide with this method is time-saving and accurate. Bifenazate is widely recognized as an effective acaricide for citrus production in various regions. Detecting both the parent compound of bifenazate and its metabolite, bifenazate-diazene, simultaneously can be challenging owing to their tendency to undergo chemical interconversion. Current methods developed for detecting bifenazate or bifenazate-diazene residues often involve lengthy incubation periods and may not effectively separate the two compounds. In this study, we developed a convenient and fast method based on a modified QuEChERS method assisted by oxidants to concurrently detect bifenazate and bifenazate-diazene. Based on preliminary analysis, it appears that ferric chloride has the ability to react with a reducing substance present in citrus, which may prevent the reduction of bifenazate-diazene. The method was validated and applied in a field trial. This work reports a novel strategy to establish a balanced 'neutral' condition to create a potential method for efficient determination of bifenazate acaricide residues in fruit matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold nanoflowers are flower-like gold nanoparticles with high photothermal conversion efficiency. Unfortunately, many gold nanoflowers have complicated synthesis methods using toxicity molecules and lack colloidal stability. In this work, in order to improve the long-term colloidal stability of existing gold nanoflowers, sulfhydryl sulfobetaine (SB-SH) was modified on the surface of gold nanoflowers by S-Au bonds to produce SB-SH stabilized gold nanoflowers (SB-SH@AuNFs). SB-SH@AuNFs did not generate any precipitation within 24 h and had a high photothermal conversion efficiency at 38.9%. In addition, the relative cell viability of A549 cells was only 11% with 0.193 mM SB-SH@AuNFs under laser irradiation. More importantly, SB-SH@AuNFs had the best antitumor effect in vivo under 808 nm laser irradiation. Thus, stable SB-SH@AuNFs with high photothermal conversion efficient were synthesized by using zwitterionic molecules. The modification of gold nanoflowers using zwitterionic molecules here is a new method to improve the antitumor efficiency of noble metal photothermal agents. [Display omitted] • Stable zwitterionic sulfhydryl sulfobetaine stabilized gold nanoflowers (SB-SH@AuNFs) were prepared for the first time. • Flower-shaped SB-SH@AuNFs had high photothermal conversion efficiency. • SB-SH@AuNFs had good biocompatibility and antitumor performance in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of Ti2448 alloy in micro-to nanoscale are investigated. • Invalidity of the "Smaller is stronger" size effect was discovered in Ti2448 sub-micron pillars uniaxial compression tests. • Improving work hardening and plastic stability is achieved by stress-induced nanoscale α" and ω phase transformations. The nanoscale phase transitions (α″ and ω of 2–5 nm size) are induced by high-level flow stress (∼1GPa) during Ti-24Nb-4Zr-8Sn pillar deformation, leading to the invalidity of the "Smaller is stronger" size effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of electrochromic electron‐accepting poly(chalcogenoviologen)s with multiple, stable, and reversible redox centers were used as anodic materials in organic radical lithium‐ion batteries (ORLIBs). The introduction of heavy atoms (S, Se, and Te) into the viologen scaffold significantly improved the capacity and cycling stability of the ORLIBs. Notably, the poly(Te‐BnV) anode was able to intercalate 20 Li ions and showed higher conductivity and insolubility in the electrolyte, thus contributing to a reversible capacity of 502 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 when the Coulombic efficiency approached 100 %. The charged/discharged state of flexible electrochromic batteries fabricated from these anodic materials could be monitored visually owing to the unique electrochromic and redox properties of the materials. This study opens a promising avenue for the development of organic polymer‐based electrodes for flexible hybrid visual electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of electrochromic electron‐accepting poly(chalcogenoviologen)s with multiple, stable, and reversible redox centers were used as anodic materials in organic radical lithium‐ion batteries (ORLIBs). The introduction of heavy atoms (S, Se, and Te) into the viologen scaffold significantly improved the capacity and cycling stability of the ORLIBs. Notably, the poly(Te‐BnV) anode was able to intercalate 20 Li ions and showed higher conductivity and insolubility in the electrolyte, thus contributing to a reversible capacity of 502 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 when the Coulombic efficiency approached 100 %. The charged/discharged state of flexible electrochromic batteries fabricated from these anodic materials could be monitored visually owing to the unique electrochromic and redox properties of the materials. This study opens a promising avenue for the development of organic polymer‐based electrodes for flexible hybrid visual electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is the first description of circulating bile acid profiles in patients with PCOS. • Serum conjugated primary bile acids are remarkably increased in PCOS patients. • Conjugated primary bile acids are positively associated with serum total testosterone and androstenedione levels in PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common metabolic disorder with hyperandrogenism as the core pathophysiologic feature. Increased bile acids and altered bile acid pool composition have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several metabolic diseases. Thus, this study aimed to clarify the specific alterations in circulating bile acids in patients with PCOS and investigate its associations with hyperandrogenism. We recruited 37 patients with PCOS and 35 age- and BMI-matched control subjects. Serum bile acids and androgen profiles were assessed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Compared with control subjects, glycine- and taurine-conjugated primary bile acids were significantly elevated in patients with PCOS (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001). In addition, these conjugated primary bile acids were significantly and positively associated with serum concentrations of total testosterone and androstenedione in the PCOS group. In conclusion, increased circulating conjugated primary bile acids are positively associated with hyperandrogenism in women with PCOS. Further studies are warranted to explore the underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, nano zirconium carbide (n-ZrC) was synthesized by preceramic polymers method, and it was used to adsorb emodin and physcion from solutions for the first time. The prepared material was characterized by various technologies. The adsorption experiment was carried out to investigate the emodin and physcion removal performance. The results indicate that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir model correlated satisfactorily to the experimental data, and the thermodynamic parameters are also calculated. Especially, n-ZrC can remove >95% of emodin or physcion in a minute under the optimal conditions, it is the fastest adsorption rate compared to other commonly used adsorbents (commercial zirconium carbide, activated carbon, C18, PSA, GCB and florisil). The adsorption mechanism was discussed, which suggests that Van der Waals' forces are the primary driving power during the adsorption process. Moreover, n-ZrC is stable at different pH and it can be reused at least fifteen times. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Nano zirconium carbide (n-ZrC) was synthesized and used to adsorb medicine (emodin and physcion) for the first time. • N-ZrC can remove >95% of emodin or physcion in 1 min, far faster than other commonly used adsorbents. • The Van der Waals' forces have been proved to be the primary driving power during the adsorption process. • The n-ZrC is stable at various pH it can be reused fifteen cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obese women are at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) has been associated with weight gain, insulin resistance and impaired fertility, which are also factors involved in PCOS. However, there is limited information regarding the influence of SCH on the presence of PCOS. In order to determine whether SCH increases the prevalence of PCOS, we performed a cross-sectional study in a cohort of reproductive-aged obese women. All subjects underwent anthropometric evaluation, laboratory tests and ultrasound examination. Diagnosis of PCOS was based on the Rotterdam criteria. A total of 534 obese women were included and 108 (20.2%) of them were diagnosed with SCH. Patients with SCH showed similar insulin resistance, comparable androgen levels, and higher triglycerides levels (1.7 vs. 1.5 mmol/L, p = .002) compared to those with normal thyroid status. The frequency of PCOS did not differ between the two groups (56.1% for normal thyroid function vs. 60.2% for subclinical hypothyroidism, p = .514). In logistic regression analysis, SCH was not an independent risk factor for PCOS after adjusting for confounding factors (OR = 0.984, 95% CI 0.581-1.667). For the first time, our results suggest that SCH does not increase the risk of PCOS in obese women of reproductive age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A uniform dendritic NiCo2S4@NiCo2S4 hierarchical nanostructure of width ≈100 nm is successfully designed and synthesized. From kinetic analysis of the electrochemical reactions, those electrodes function in rechargeable alkaline batteries (RABs). The dendritic structure exhibited by the electrodes has a high discharge‐specific capacity of 4.43 mAh cm−2 at a high current density of 240 mA cm−2 with a good rate capability of 70.1% after increasing the current densities from 40 to 240 mA cm−2. At low scan rate of 0.5 mV s−1 in cyclic voltammetry test, the semidiffusion controlled electrochemical reaction contributes ≈92% of the total capacity, this value decreases to ≈43% at a high scan rate of 20 mV s−1. These results enable a detailed analysis of the reaction mechanism for RABs and suggest design concepts for new electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) show high prevalence of glucose intolerance. This study aimed to investigate the association of androgen excess with glucose intolerance in PCOS. A total of 378 women with PCOS participated in the study. Free androgen index (FAI) was selected as indicator of hyperandrogenism. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by 1/homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (1/HOMA-IR) and Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISIM); β-cell function was assessed by disposition index (DI). We found that women with glucose intolerance had higher FAI levels compared to women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (prediabetes 6.2, T2DM 7.9 versus NGT 5.0, resp.; p<0.001). Furthermore, there was a direct association between FAI levels and frequency of glucose intolerance (OR = 2.480, 95% CI 1.387–4.434), even after adjusting for age, BMI, waist circumference, hypertension, fasting insulin, testosterone, SHBG, and family history of diabetes. In addition, with FAI increase, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), plasma glucose concentrations, and serum insulin levels increased, while insulin sensitivity and β-cell function decreased. Our results suggested that androgen excess indicated by high FAI levels might serve as indicator of glucose intolerance, as it might promote insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction in women with PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To measure the systemic risk contribution of the financial institutes in China more accurately and to avoid financial risk events, a new method named CoES model is proposed based on the mean value of tail loss. Compared to the traditional CoVaR model, this method pays more attention to the mean value of tail loss than the expected loss on one single quantile, which could provide more accurate information for the supervision when capturing the systemic risk of financial system. The new method is utilized to measure the systemic risk contributions of 21 financial institutions in China from 2007 to 2016. The empirical results show that: 1) the CoVaR model may underestimate the systemic risk of financial institutes; 2) the banking industry brings the largest systemic risk contribution to the whole financial system, followed by insurance, real estate and diversified financial industry; 3) among banking industry, the systemic risk contributions of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China are the largest, which should be the key regulatory objects; 4) compared with the banking and real estate industry, the insurance industry and the diversified financial industry own higher VaR value and their systemic risk contributions are relatively lower, so the regulators could pay more attention to their own risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel multilayer backpropagation (BP) neural network model is proposed based on conjugate gradient (CG) method with generalized Armijo search. The presented algorithm requires low memory and performs fast convergent speed in practical applications. One reason is that the constructed conjugate direction guarantees the sufficient descent behavior in minimizing the given objective function. The other stems from the fact that the generalized Armijo method can automatically determine a more suitable learning rate in each training epoch. As a theoretical contribution, two deterministic convergent results, weak and strong convergence, have been detailedly proved under more relaxed assumptions. The weak convergence means that the norm of gradient of the objective function tends to zero. For the strong convergence, it represents that the sequence of weight vectors approaches a fixed point. To support the theoretical results, some illustrated simulations have been done on various benchmark datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact in histologically proven thyroid nodules, and to determine the types of echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact that are associated with malignancy. We retrospectively analyzed the sonographic findings of echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact, present in thyroid nodules in 63 patients who underwent surgery for thyroid nodules at our institution between January 2016 and September 2016. The sonographic findings (appearance and background of echogenic foci, shape of comet-tail artifact) in benign and malignant nodules were compared. Seventy-one (7.4%) nodules with ultrasound finding of echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact were encountered in 962 thyroid nodules of 556 patients; 25 of these were benign, and 46 were malignant. Among the echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact categories, those (11/11, 100%) freely distributed in cystic components were all in benign nodules, whereas those (48/67, 71.6%) any part of echogenic foci or comet-tail artifact associated with solid components, were more common in malignant nodules (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the appearance of echogenic foci and the shape of comet-tail between the benign and malignant nodules (P = 0.139, P = 0.626, respectively). Echogenic foci with comet-tail artifact freely distributed in cystic component may predict a benign nodule; those associated with solid components cannot be considered a benign finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is the key bottleneck in the performance of fuel cells. The rational design of efficient and inexpensive ORR electrocatalysts is a common goal for the large-scale application of fuel cells. Herein, by means of density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that two-dimensional (2D) biphenylene (BPN) with doping B/N are metal-free single-atom catalyst candidates with the overpotentials comparable to those noble metal benchmark catalysts. The B/N doping effectively modulates the charge distribution in BPN sheets, promotes the electron transfer between doped BPN and the oxygen-containing intermediates, which results in enhancing their binding strength, and facilitating their electrochemical ORR catalytic activity. This work not only provides metal-free single-atom catalysts for ORR, but also promotes BPN nanomaterials for single-atom catalysts development and practical applications. [Display omitted] • 2D biphenylene with doping B/N are metal-free single-atom catalysts. • N 2 -BPN exhibits superior ORR performance with a overpotential of 0.40 V. • N substituting C 2 atom in BPN could tune charge redistribution of active C 1 atom. • N 2 -BPN exhibits a suitable adsorption free energy and shows high ORR activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has gained extensive attention because of the superiority of iron catalysts, such as low toxicity, abundant reserves, and good biocompatibility. Herein, a practical iron catalyst recycling system, photoinduced iron-based water-induced phase separable catalysis ATRP with initiators for continuous activator regeneration, at room temperature is developed for the first time. In this polymerization system, the polymerization is conducted in homogenous solvents consisting of p-xylene and ethanol, using commercially available 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine iron(III) chloride as the iron catalyst, ethyl 2-bromophenylacetate as the ATRP initiator, 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide as the photoinitiator, and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate as the model hydrophilic monomer. After polymerization, a certain amount of water is added to induce the phase separation so that the catalyst can be separated and recycled in p-xylene phase with very low residual metal complexes (<12 ppm) in the resultant polymers even after six times recycle experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Partially-recrystallized β structure with abundant substructures and defects was characterized. • Microstructural hierarchies were obtained in β + α microstructure. • Excellent strength-ductility synergy could be achieved no matter in β or α + β phased condition. • Enhanced strain-hardening rate postponed the occurrence of plastic instability. Microstructural hierarchies of a fine-grained (∼6μm) Ti-10Mo-8 V-1Fe-3.5Al alloy fabricated by hot working process were investigated in β-phased and (α + β)-phased condition respectively. The β-phased microstructure was characterized by a fraction (∼24%) of recrystallized β-grains distributed randomly in the matrix, including subgrains with abundant substructures and defects. After aging, the consequent precipitation behavior of α featured by heterogeneous and insular areas with coarse α(∼0.9 μm) embedded in the ultrafine α(∼0.13 μm). It was clarified that excellent strength-ductility synergy can be achieved by hierarchical microstructure no matter in β or α + β phased condition, in sharp contrast to their coarse-grained counterparts. The microstructural dependence of mechanical properties was discussed in terms of the strain-hardening rate arising from the formation of dislocation pile-up influenced by a dispersion of precipitates, and by grain size (GS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goods distribution is a growing proportion of intra-urban transport worldwide due to changes in supply chains and e-commerce, yet has received scant attention in research. Cities have opted for a regulatory approach to truck movement and deliveries at a local level but few have tried to develop a systematic approach to management. Following certain suggestions in the literature, a hierarchical deliveries approach is being adopted in some new developments in Europe and Australia using light vehicles at the local level. In East, South and South-East Asia, where 3-wheeled non-motorised vehicles have been a mainstay of goods and people transport for several decades, they are under renewed pressure from city governments. This study of the tricycle in Beijing examines their role for packages delivery, food and beverage distribution and waste and recycling services, which covers nearly all of the uses of utilitarian tricycles in northern Chinese cities. Drivers (n = 97) were interviewed, their usual trips were mapped, and the subsequent trip was recorded using a geo-positioning system. These trips were compared with trips executed by small, motorised vans, favoured since 2014 by Beijing government. Operations can be divided into four categories according to delivery chain organisation, field operations and vehicle type. Motorised alternatives to the tricycle are shown to be uncompetitive in terms of time, cost and energy efficiency. This first detailed examination of the operations of the tricycle in a Chinese city provides a useful base for consideration of local distribution services organisation and a possible model for cities outside China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipoxygenase (EC1.13.11.12, LOX) has been potentially used in the food industry for food quality improvement. However, the low activity, poor thermal stability, narrow range of pH stability, as well as undesirable isoenzymes and off-flavors, have hampered the application of current commercial LOX. In this study, a putative mini-lipoxygenase gene from cyanobacteria, Nostoc sphaeroides (NsLOX), was cloned and expressed in E. coli BL21. NsLOX displayed only 26.62% structural identity with the reported LOX from Cyanothece sp., indicating it as a novel LOX. The purified NsLOX showed the maximum activity at pH 8.0 and 15 °C, with superior stability at a pH range from 6.0 to 13.0, retaining about 40% activity at 40 °C for 90 min. Notably, NsLOX exhibited the highest specific activity of 78,080 U/mg towards linoleic acid (LA), and the kinetic parameters—Km, kcat, and kcat/Km—attain values of 19.46 μM, 9199.75 s−1, and 473.85 μM−1 s−1, respectively. Moreover, the activity of NsLOX was obviously activated by Ca2+, but it was completely inhibited by Zn2+ and Cu2+. Finally, NsLOX was supplied in steamed bread and contributed even better improved bread quality than the commercial LOX. These results suggest NsLOX as a promising substitute of current commercial LOX for application in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of new N- H aporphine analogues with the A-ring modification have been designed and synthesized. • 11b and 11f have been identified as the G q -biased and selective 5-HT 2C receptors agonists with no β-arrestin recruitment activity. • Molecular docking studies elucidated the possible binding poses of (S)- 11b and (S)- 11f to the 5-HT 2C receptor and their exclusive bias toward G q signaling. • Aporphines 11b and 11f possessing promising drug-like profiles completely reversed the Meth-induced hyperactivity in mice at a dose of 20 mg/kg. The concept of subtype selectivity and functional bias has recently reshaped current GPCR drug discovery for G protein-coupled receptors. A series of new N- H aporphines with A-ring modifications have been synthesized, and their efficacy on 5-HT 2 receptor activation was evaluated. SAR analysis led to the discovery of several more potent and selective 5-HT 2C receptor agonists (e.g., 11b and 11f) with low nanomolar activity. Molecular docking analysis of this series of aporphines was in accordance with our SAR results. The functional selectivity of specific compounds was tested via both G q -mediated calcium flux and β-arrestin recruitment assays, which revealed that these compounds exhibited no β-arrestin recruitment activity. Further ADMET study combined with behavioral assessment using a methamphetamine-induced hyperactivity model identified compound 11b and 11f possessing promising drug-like profiles and having antipsychotic potential. These agonists with an exclusive bias toward G q signaling may serve as valuable pharmacological probes to facilitate the elucidation of therapeutically relevant 5-HT 2C signaling pathways and the development of alternative antipsychotic medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An in-depth overview of MXene applied to capacitive deionisation for desalination. • Performances of MXene are compared to current best performing faradaic electrodes. • MXene salt desalination mechanisms and its stability in water are addressed. • Challenges and prospects of MXene capacitive deionisation are highlighted. Due to the continually growing world population, water desalination has played a vital role for many countries with a shortage of clean water services. A relevant process for brackish water desalination is capacitive deionization (CDI) with the potential of producing clean water via low energy consumption electrochemical interactions. Due to the recent availability of layered and nanostructured materials to fabricate faradaic electrodes acting as pseudocapacitors to increase the salts' storage capacity, CDI-like desalination methods have gained renewed interest. As a way of improving the desalination performance and energy efficiency of CDI, faradaic deionization (FDI) based on faradaic electrodes such as Ti-MXene (Ti 3 C 2 T x) have been proposed for brackish water desalination. This paper provides a review of the theoretical and experimental framework underpinning CDI and FDI using MXene as electrodes, discussing the actual unique role of MXene in CDI-like desalination methods and its prospects. We will examine MXene's current achievements in the broader area of faradaic and hybrid capacitive deionization if compared with other materials and with various architectures and determine the research gaps in the use of MXene for these applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]